Avengers: Reflections
by Adrael79
Summary: Thanos couldn't control who was snapped and who was spared. A simple fluke of probability results in the survivors and victims of the snap being reversed. The more things change, the more they stay the same.


Adrael79 presents

**Avengers: Reflection**

Prologue

_Perfectly balanced, as all things should be...I hope they remember you._

_-Thanos_

Doctor Stephen Strange had planned everything out. He had examined 14,000,605 different timelines and gone as far as betrayal to ensure that the one timeline with Thanos's defeat would come to pass. Except, it didn't. He had to admit, it was kind of ironic. All that planning, 5 years and time traveling that had yet to occur, and it's all undone by the cosmic equivalent of a coin flip.

He's not prepared, unless viewing over 14 million visions of his compatriots failing counted as preparation. He had gotten very close to insane while viewing some of them(one of the risks of time travel they don't warn you about) so he had skimmed passed part of the more doomed-seeming timelines. And, well, this was one of them. He had about as much information as the rest of his non-time traveling companions.

Stephen is distracted from reminiscing on the future by someone shouting. Parker is mad, understandably so. He is currently yelling at the so-called "Star-Lord", undoubtedly blaming him for ruining Stark's plans. Without being able to see the future, Parker will probably blame Stephen as well. He needs to take care of this, before their impromptu squad implodes under grief and anger.

As he approaches the conflict, he gets a closer look at his combatants. They both look extremely distraught, to say the least. If Stephen was anywhere near experiencing time normally, he probably would be as agitated. Parker appears to be blaming Quill for Thanos' triumph, which is a reasonable response. Reasonable, but not ideal.

With a gesture, a wall of astral energy separates Quill and Parker. Strange can't afford to mince words with this group. He needs to give them some kind of hope before they end up harming others or themselves. Dammit, Stephen is no good at this kind of thing. He's not exactly the leader that's needed right now, but if everything was going according to plan, he wouldn't be here.

* * *

In all the time that Sam Wilson has been an Avenger, HQ has never been this quiet. It's really kind of creepy. It's not as creepy as seeing Steve and the others disintegrate, but it's close. The only person who's not feeling like absolute garbage is Nick Fury, who just decided to show up and take command. Not that there's much to take command of, just a bunch of colossal failures who haven't left their rooms since the Snap, Sam included. T'challa and Shuri are still in Wakanda, at least doing _something,_ unlike Sam.

Steve, Nat, Rhodey, Thor, and so many others gone. It would be easy to blame himself. After all, what did he do against Thanos? He's just a guy with wings fighting alongside literal gods.

Come on, self pity will get him nowhere. He drags himself off of the couch. He's going to talk to Fury, and see what he can do about...anything, really. At least until Fury yells into his communicator.

"Wilson! You're the only person who's not completely wallowing in their own self-pity. Meet me outside. I'm not about to confront an alien spaceship that came out of a portal by myself and Agent Hill."

Fury and Hill are hiding in the door frame, weapons readied. Sam is starting to regret not taking the time to put on his wings. He's not ready to take on another alien invasion, both physically and mentally.

There's no aliens. Just the kid from the airport(that seems so long ago) and some guy with a red cloak. And then there's some aliens too, because of course there is. Fury stares at Sam, giving a silent command to hold his fire. Sam is kind of offended. Does Fury think he's some trigger-happy recruit?

After introductions, the new people immediately started talking about fighting Thanos, and it appears that the only person who has a problem with that is Sam. "I'm all for taking the fight to Thanos, but he beat us when we had an army, and powerhouses like Thor." Fury gives a barely-perceptible grimace at that last sentence, but Sam can't imagine why. Sam continues his objection to this quite frankly insane plan. "Do we even have a chance now? For that matter do we even know where Thanos is?"

The blond guy (Star-Prince, or Quill, or something) steps forward. "Well, the first time, we didn't have the element of surprise. Besides, we almost beat him once on..on...Titan. We can do it again. And besides, when Thanos, uh, snapped, he unleashed a big wave of energy. And a similar wave of energy was detected here." Star-Prince pulled up a holographic planet that looked pretty similar to Earth. "Now, all we need is a plan."

Sam is still worried. He doesn't think anyone on the team is ready to face Thanos. They're all blinded by grief, him included, and all it could take is for one screw-up for Thanos to win again. No one else seems to be worried about this, not even Fury. And that worries Sam just as much as Thanos.

They're approaching the planet now. It looks..otherworldly. Though everything in space looks otherworldly. He doesn't know how Quill and his team ever get used to it. Of course there is the small problem of the fact that this is unfamiliar terrain for everyone, and the fact that they're looking for one guy on a Earth-sized planet.

The kid from the airport speaks up for the first time since he arrived. "I-Its safe. I don't feel any danger coming from the planet. Besides Thanos." Sam wants to ask where the bantering, innocent kid from just months before went, but he already knows.

The ship touches down. Sam is the most mobile and silent person in the group(that's a first) so he's put on scout duty. Soaring through the air, searching for possible threats in the area of the shockwave, he's shocked by how...quiet everything is. Even when flying on earth, there was always birds, planes, the occasional bug buzzing around. Now, there's nothing but the wind in his ears. Hold up, he can see a purple blotch far below. Its go time.

* * *

Thanos trudges through the fields outside of his home. Tilling the earth, living off of only what one can sow, is unlike anything he has ever experienced before. That is not to say it is a bad thing. The things Thanos has done to bring peace to the universe still haunt him, and he is not inclined to repeat any of them. Seeing the interspersed pattern of dead space in between the plants, Thanos silently laments the unintended consequences of his balancing. The prosperity of people will be affected by the loss of some beasts and plants, but they will recover. And all of Thanos' sacrifices will have brought prosperity to the universe. They have to have saved universe or...they have to.

Thanos sees a mature fruit on one of the stalks. That will make a hearty stew that will nourish him for the night. He picks it with his gauntleted arm. After the final fulfillment of his mission, he is certain that his flesh has been burned into the gauntlet. Yet it is but the least of his sacrifices.

He staggers back to his hut. He is still weak. But, he has no need for strength. It is but a reminder of time past. He drags a cauldron over his firepit. He will need to fetch some water to warm in a moment, but it will not hurt to get it prepared.

He hears the telltale whir of a wizard's portal, but before he can move a voice yells "**Sleep**".

* * *

Stephen teleports Mantis onto Thanos, and gives the signal. Maximoff tears apart the cabin in a storm of psychic energy. Parker leaps out from and webs Thanos's bare arm, and Wilson helps him restrain Thanos. At the same time, Quill swoops down and grabs Thanos' gauntleted arm with Barnes and Groot. Finally, Stephen warps Drax wielding the Stormbreaker to sever the gauntlet from Thanos. All according to plan. Stephen knows that Thanos has destroyed the stones, so he doesn't really listen to Quill and the others interrogating Thanos about the stones. Now all he has to do is find the Pym family and then they can get to work finding the stones in the alternate timeline! Oh. Drax attempts to behead Thanos, but that is easily remedied.  
He yanks Drax back with mystical bands. "We need him for information about the stones."

In congratulating himself for a plan that actually worked, it seemed that he didn't notice Maximoff. Her emotional state should have warranted further supervision. And now she's crushing Thanos, and before he can do anything, the last lifeline to the locations of all six infinity stones lies dead on the floor. Stephen...doesn't know what to do now. He.. didn't view this part of the future. He has sees no possible avenue of success. And it seems no one else does either. Maximoff strides out of the ruins of the shack. The plan has failed. There's no way to find the Infinity stones in the timeline. This is the end.

* * *

**A/N: Here I am, starting another story instead of working on the ones I ****already made. I'll finish this one though. Eventually.**

**-Adrael**


End file.
